Thoughts on "Cars"

[Tannerman]

Amy and I took in a late showing of Disney/Pixar's Cars over the weekend. It ended up being the #1 film pulling in $62.8 million at the box office. But was the movie any good?

First off, those that know me probably need to filter what I say given my love/hate relationship with Disney -- I love the potential of Disney animation and theme parks, hate it when that potential is not met. I've previously stated that I think the purchase of Pixar by Disney is a good thing in the long run. I've already given my "thumbs up" to the Cars soundtrack. And I think Cars is a great installment in the Pixar library of films.

I really enjoyed seeing Cars. It's probably going to rank up there as one of my favorite Pixar movies when the hype dies down. But I think the appeal is more limited, mainly because the general movie going public is mostly stupid and needs everything spoon-fed to them. By that I mean that Cars doesn't have your typical "hero overcoming a problem" issue (well, it does... but there's more to it). Actually, a large part of the film is devoted to the idea of nostalgia and recognizing elements of life that have been lost over time. Since that's not so obvious of a concept and requires some appreciation of American history, I can see how some might not "get it."

The film deals much with the elements of auto racing and Route 66. The latter is a decidedly American tradition, and as such, sparks some great feelings in me. Granted, I never traveled much of Route 66 in my lifetime (other than what you find here in Chicago), but it does evoke memories of family road trips across the United States and fun times spent in the Southwest. To me, that brought the film very close to home and made it very relatable. Your mileage may vary (pun intended).

While the film did pull in a substantial amount a cash over the weekend, you may have noticed that many in the media have been reporting it as "disappointing." That financial figure for a film on opening weekend is actually very good, but when put into the context of previous Pixar films, it comes up a little short in the dollar category (The Incredibles did $70.5 million opening weekend, while Finding Nemo pulled $70.3 million; Cars opened at $62.8 million). While there are probably a zillion excuses one could make for the lower turnout (longer running time, unrealistic growth expectations for future Pixar film, the glut of computer animated movies, lack of empathy with automobiles, male-skewing demographic appeal -- though Amy loved it, ArenaBowl XX, etc.), this is a situation where you look beyond what Wall Street tells you and just go see a darn good film.

I have a feeling this film will "get legs" and actually do very well over the course of the summer, especially within the context of what else is out there. Beyond the business side of the movie, it does feature something that Pixar has done very well all along... story. The characters -- and in some cases, the town -- drives the film, even if it's rather predictable. It is then cushioned by an amazing set of visuals and finally the wonderfully produced soundtrack.

Watching this movie makes me want to pack up the car and hit the open road! If you go see it, make sure you stay till the end of the credits. You'll thank me later!

[CuriousGeorge]

I can't help but grin. It's like Christmas, every single time a new Pixar movie comes out. And I'm glad to hear Cars doesn't disappoint!

Granted, I've been cooped up at home playing "The Mad Writer" for two weeks, and haven't seen it yet. I'm waving it in front of me like a carrot on a stick to get me to finish up the last Act of this screenplay and be done with it.

Seems to me from all the reviews I've read that Cars is essentially Doc Hollywood all over again, beat for beat, except with... well... cars. Some folks have been complaining about that – I say, heck with it, as long as it's still a great movie. And judging by your good reception, I'd say it is!

[henryjz]

I simply loved it. I was hesistant at first because of the NASCAR tie ins, but yet again, Pixar comes out with a fun story and amazing animation. I can't wait to add this to our home collection.